Article by Wendy McCance
When I first decided to become a freelance writer, I was spending a ton of time each day trying to find stories from other writers about what it was like to be a writer, work from home and get jobs. I found a little bit of information here and there, but I never saw what I was truly looking for. I wanted to experience what a week was like for a writer.
What if you knew how much a writer worked in a week and how much they made for that work? What if you could see how much time it took for them to do that work? What if you could get an idea of the juggle between work and family?
Working during the summer is much different when you have children than in the winter. Each week does pose different challenges because of the types of assignments you are working on and what the family schedule looks like that week. Even so, I thought it would be helpful for you to get the most honest inside look into what a typical week looks like for me. I would like to point out that I am focusing primarily on the assignments and client interaction. Each day, from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep at night I research, write for myself, prospect for business etc… I am obsessed with my job and spend many hours on all of the extra components. I’m sure the extra time is what got me to where I am now much quicker, so I am mentioning what else I do, but I am mostly focusing on the actual paying jobs I do. Hope this clarifies things a bit. I should probably do another one of these schedules once school is back in session. With 3 kids and their activites, summer is truly a vacation compared to my winter schedule.
Read on to see what a recent week was like for me.
Monday
Wake up at 9:00 am
Review information for a 9:30 am call with a possible client
Call lasts 40 minutes. Will be writing a press release. $125.00
4 Clients social media management (Twitter or Facebook postings, commenting etc…) $125.00
Write a post for my own blog
Rough draft of the press release
Reading and research (anything blog/writing related)
Emails, checking in to my own social media sites (several times each day)
Actual time working on client assignments, client calls, emails etc… 4 hours
Money made today: $250.00
Tuesday
Wake up 10:00 am
Check email, social media sites
2 clients social media management $65.00
2 weekly blog articles for a client $150.00
Post the new articles on their website
Prospect for new business using LinkedIn (1 hour and 85 emails)
Reading and research (anything blog/writing related)
Emails, checking in to my own social media sites (several times each day)
Actual time working on assignments, calls, prospecting etc…5 hours
Money made today: $215.00
Wednesday
Wake up 9:00 am
Get kids up for the dentist
Check email, social media sites
Begin working on 4 clients social media management $125.00
Kids appointment 11:00 am
Kids home and getting lunch, 12:45 pm
Back to work and finishing clients social media management 1:15 pm
Final draft of the press release
Writing out questions for interview (not being paid) offered to do an interview for my blog. Got a great connection and was thrilled to be able to interview songwriter, Lillian Lewis. 9:00 pm interview
Actual time working on assignments, calls, interview…5 hours
Money made: $125.00
Thursday
Wake up at 9:00 am
Check email, social media sites etc…
2 clients social media management $65.00
11:00 am meeting at music studio to work on my song
Leave the studio at 2:30 pm
Home by 3:00 pm
Get laundry going in the wash and pull clean load out
Make dinner
Back to work at 6:30 pm
Write blog article
Prepare for tomorrow’s interview (clips of work, reading up on the company etc..)
Actual time working on assignments, prep for tomorrow…2 hours
Money made: $65.00
Friday
Up at 9:00 am
4 social media sites to manage $125.00
Check emails, own social media sites etc…
Meeting at 12:00 pm potential client. Possible freelance writing/social media opportunity. Left with 2 writing assignments $150.00
Home by 1:30 pm
Check emails, social media etc…
Errands
Out to friends house with family 6:30 pm
Actual time working on assignments and meeting: 3 hours
Money made: $275.00
Saturday
Up at 11:00 am
2 social media sites to manage $65.00
Check emails, social media sites etc…
Write personal blog article
Create weekly social media schedule for a client $200.00
Get email with offer to inject 12 pages with SEO for a new client $800.00
Prospect for new business (2 hours, 145 emails)
Clean the house
Grocery shopping
Actual time working on assignments, prospecting etc… 5 hours
Money made: $1,065.00
Sunday
Up at 10:00 am
Check email, social media sites
Read, research, plan out next week
Work on some SEO pages
Spend late afternoon with family
Back to the computer at 9:00 pm to work
Actual time working on assignments: 3 hours
Money made: $0 (was already tabulated)
1 week of work: 27 hours working on assignments, going to meetings, taking calls
1 week of pay: $1,995.00
*Not counting in hours for research, personal blog writing which helps me get new clients, reading, file maintenance etc…
Wendy McCance
To contact Wendy McCance about a writing or social media assignment, interview or speaking engagement, please email her at: [email protected]
Latest posts by Wendy McCance (see all)
- Top Parenting Blog Winner - June 19, 2017
- Interview with Claire Cappetta of Clarified Lifeline - April 27, 2017
- Rewrite Time - April 25, 2017
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An Abundance of Writing Advice
Dear Wendy,
Hi. As usual I enjoyed your treasure trove of advice.
Have a doubt though, which I think you can clarify:
When a site like Ebyline asks us for a list of publishers who have published our works, what do they mean ?
Can we list articles published on PubMed ?
What does a person like me do who is absolutely new to writing and has never published in any newspaper or column or magazine except as a co author in a few medical articles ?
Thank you once again.
Susie
Hi Susie, I wish I could answer your question, but you are diving into an area that I have no experience with. The majority of my writing assignments are for companies that need web content, brochure articles, sell sheets and press releases. Wishing you all the best!
Cool account of a week in your life, for me I am more productive in early - I am more creative in the morning so early mornings suit me - its great to work to your own schedule and work best for you.
I agree. I love being able to decide when to work each day. Except for the social media postings, I tend to do a lot of my writing late at night.
That was a good summary, Wendy!
Thanks Pam. I wish I had seen an article like this when I first thought about freelancing. I’m thinking of doing another weekly schedule once school is underway. I think anyone with kids who is interested in working for themself should see what the juggle can really look like. The two things that I would say people need to seriously consider is the hectic schedule and the amount of prospecting they will need to do to get assignments.
Ok what a week, you week sounds busy to me
Busy, but I love it!!